Friends: A Perfect Moment
by Syl
Summary: Following a successful mission, Dinah receives her next set of orders.


**Summary:** _Following a successful mission, Dinah receives her next set of orders._

**Disclaimer:** _All the characters are owned by DC Comics and Time/Warner; this is an original story that does not intend to infringe on their copyright. Feedback is welcome! _

# Copyright February 2001

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## Friends 9: A Perfect Moment

**by **

**Syl Francis**

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Dinah took one last look around, feeling satisfied. 

Perfect. 

That was the only way to describe it. For once, the entire mission had gone like clockwork.

The chemical munitions were destroyed. The dictator and his cabinet were in the hands of the resistance movement. The final pockets of loyalists were being rounded up. And the democratic elections, demanded by the general populace for months, would soon take place. 

Time to go home.

"Perfect," she repeated, taking several deep, ragged breaths. 

She'd just gone one-on-thirty against so-called 'Loyalist' soldiers, well-trained, well-armed members of the Elite Guard. Dinah noticed that her body ached in more places than she cared to admit. 

"I must be getting old," she grumbled. She glared at her unconscious opponents, her eyes narrowing dangerously. They'd given her quite a workout, and she was paying the penalty--feeling bruised, battered and bleeding. 

"Mercenaries!" she spat in disgust. "Yeah, they're 'Loyalist' soldiers, all right. Just your friendly, neighborhood rent-a-soldier--the best 'loyalty' money can buy!" 

Still, she was the only one left standing. She grinned again, forgetting her aches and pains.

"Like I said--perfect!" 

A stifled groan escaped from one of the crumpled heaps at her feet. Without hesitation, she kicked out.

The groaning stopped. She activated her comlink.

"Mission accomplished," she reported. "The world is once again a safe place for truth, justice, and the American--" 

"Spare me." 

Dinah stopped, surprised by the deep growl that interrupted her. Batman! Her heartbeat, which had already been hammering from her exertions, seemed to beat a little faster. 

The next instant, she remembered that she wasn't speaking to him anymore, the memory instantly dissipating her earlier exultant mood. In a flash, her mind's eye transported her to a week ago...

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"What were you thinking?" Batman shouted. "You were little better than an amateur. Even **_Batgirl_** knows to **_look_** where's she stepping! And she's been on the job for less than a year!"

Dinah stood, stunned by the verbal assault. She looked around, shamed by the averted eyes of Batman's junior partners. Robin looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, and Nightwing--! Nightwing looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek to keep from sounding off and coming to her defense. 

She faced Batman, her blue-green eyes suddenly glinting dangerously.

"Don't you **_dare_** use that tone of voice with me. I'm not one of your sidekicks. You said you needed my help, and you got it!"

"You destroyed vital evidence--!"

"And you can be so anal at times!" she returned. Robin snickered, but catching the Dark Knight's glare quickly suppressed it.

"--You **_stepped_** on the vial and **_shattered_** it!"

"So what? The perp's in custody. Case closed!" 

********

Case closed, she'd said. Yeah, right. 

Only Batman hadn't been done with her. He continued with the butt chewing, highlighting each of her mistakes, coldly, clinically, unyielding.

Finally, Dinah had enough. 

Livid, she responded her way: She decked him! And demonstrated to all present exactly why Ollie had always been just a little afraid of the Black Canary.

Dinah walked away without a backward glance... 

She remembered the Bat-kids' initial open-mouthed gapes after she'd flattened His Royal Batness. Their shock soon changed to snickers, which they quickly hid behind heavy gauntlets. Recalling the image of Batman lying flat on his derriere, Dinah laughed aloud, relishing the moment.

Coming back to the present, her brief levity passed, leaving behind an empty hole. Straightening her shoulders, she tossed her head and answered Batman with a glibness she didn't feel. 

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the World's Greatest Grouch." 

"...!" Her statement was met by dead silence.

Pressing a button on her belt she waited for her ride. Within seconds she **_felt_** more than **_heard_** as a deep thrumming approached. Looking up, she saw a black shadow appear overhead, the JSA insignia glowing softly in the dim starlight. When the fully automated stealth craft was directly above her, a rope ladder dropped down.

"Tell me, Batman," she said as she climbed. "To I what do I owe **_this_** honor?" Dinah's tone indicated that she considered it anything but. "Calling to check up on me? Afraid I might've stepped on something else I wasn't supposed to?"

"No, I'm covering for--" 

"Where's Oracle, anyway?" Dinah interrupted, cutting him off. 

"Date," Batman answered curtly. 

Dinah scowled, feeling envious. Strapping herself into the pilot's seat, she adjusted her instruments and banked the highly maneuverable aircraft into a ninety-degree turn. She then hit the thrusters and roared into the night.

Activating the head's up display, Dinah monitored the instruments as she flew the small, stealth jet low to the ground.

"So, she's got a date, huh?" Dinah muttered. 

"Yes, she's--"

"Lovely," Dinah interrupted. "She's probably out with that hunk, Nightwing."

"Hunk--?" 

"Oracle sends **_me_** on another Mission: Impossible--" 

"Actually, she's with her fa--" Batman began.

"--Where I have to sneak into yet **_another_** ex-Soviet satellite country." Dinah continued as if she hadn't heard him. "Topple yet **_another_** bullyboy regime. Stop the proliferation of yet **_another_** never-heard-of-before chemical weapon. Sneak back out of said country. And do it all within yet **_another_** of her impossible-to-keep-to timetables!"

"That was **_my_** timetable--"

"And **_she's_** out on a date!" Dinah finished in disgust. 

"No, she's with her fa--"

"Sorry. Can't talk. Approaching the southern border." Dinah abruptly cut transmissions while she concentrated on avoiding their air defense batteries. At twenty miles out, she deployed radar countermeasures. Instantly, a stream of glittering, metallic strips shot out of the jet's aft section. The filaments would effectively cancel any radar tracking her.

"There! That oughtta be a hard poke in the eyes." Within moments, Dinah's instruments indicated that she'd safely crossed the border into the neighboring country. Gaining altitude, she achieved cruising speed, and then settled back. She re-activated her comlink.

"This is Black Canary. I'm home free."

"What's your ETA?" Batman asked.

"Approximately eight hours," Dinah replied. "Seven if I push it."

"Excellent. I have another mission upon your return."

"What--!" Dinah shouted. "Hey, listen here, Mr. Grim and Grumpy. I have a **_life_** you know! Today's February Fourteenth--Valentine's Day! And **_this_** superhero is gonna stand down tonight."

"You have a date?" The 'Voice' sounded even colder than usual. 

"Well...um, no, but--" Why did that 'Voice' always evoke such an icy feeling in the pit of her stomach?

"Good. I'm transmitting your instructions to your onboard computer--now!"

Dinah sighed. She'd been about to say, 'No, I don't have a date, because a certain billionaire playboy's too busy busting heads at night and isn't interested in dinner and dancing. And because I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last man on earth!' 

But what was the use? Ever since she'd hooked up with Oracle it seemed that Dinah never had time for dates anyway--or anything else, for that matter. As for Oracle's enigmatic Bat-boss...? At times Bruce Wayne seemed almost human enough to touch, but then he shoved her into a forgotten corner. Apparently this was his way of handling anyone who dared get close to him. 

Only this time, she'd shoved back. And walked away.

A cold blanket descended on her, dampening her earlier triumphant mood. She flew in silence for several minutes. Abruptly, she shook herself out of her funk. No! She **_would not_** allow a man to control her life anymore. After all, wasn't she an independent, self-confident and proven superhero? 

A date? That was something **_other_** women indulged in--women who needed the approval of a man with which to measure their worth. 

"Well, that's no longer me," Dinah said, nodding empathically. A blinking, green light caught her attention. Batman's in-coming message, probably. Ah, well. No rest for the weary, she decided philosophically. 

Punching her onboard computer, she read her mission operations order. A puzzled look came over her, and she reread it. Finally, her lovely eyes brightened in jubilant glee. 

MISSION: MEET ME AT GOTHAM CITY SKYLINE RESTAURANT 2000HRS. DINNER, DANCING, CHAMPAGNE. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. BRUCE. PS YES, I'M GROVELING.

"Oh, no, Mr. Wayne. You have not yet begun to grovel!" Settling back into the pilot's seat, Dinah smiled to herself.

Yes, she thought. Everything was perfect.

**The End**

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End file.
